Hi, I’m Rachel! I’m the Founder + Creative Director of this blog and social media. I created this platform in 2015 to pursue my interest in food and photography. Over time my focus expanded to include my passion for living a vegan lifestyle.
I grew up on the beautiful beaches of Queensland, Australia. When I reached my late teens, I caught the travel bug and decided to see the world! Over the next couple of years, I visited Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Of course, I took tons of travel photos along the way!
Upon returning, I met my husband, Andrew. We’ve had a blast together ever since, building our careers and traveling the world. Over the two decades, we have lived in Brisbane, Melbourne, San Francisco, Boston, and now we live in San Diego in sunny California! Along the way, I completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with majors in Management and Human Resources. I work every day using this knowledge to turn my passion into a career.
Of course, life isn’t always about adventure and great food, and I’ve had my share of health struggles. At 14, I was diagnosed with Lupus and was very sick for three years. Luckily, I’ve been in remission for a long time! I’ve also battled chronic depression, pre-diabetes, an eating disorder resulting in the decision to undergo a gastric bypass, and even MRSA. Even so, I’m thankful none of this was life-threatening, and I think I’m stronger as a result.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve become more focused on what I eat. It always felt weird to eat animals, even though I did this for most of my life. Like many people, I flipped between the “standard American”, vegetarian, and plant-based diets for years. Finally, I transitioned to eating a 100% plant-based diet and haven’t looked back! It makes me so happy that I don’t need to consume animal products or exploit animals to live a healthy, happy life.
I love experimenting and adapting recipes to suit my needs and to fit my busy lifestyle. As a result, the recipes you’ll find on RachelSteenland.com are all vegan, tasty, and easy.
Rachel x
The Garden Party is on a Mission to shake up the world through the power of plants, by sharing tasty and easy 100% plant based recipes and resources to help you live a vegan lifestyle.
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